1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a trash collection receptacle and a trash compactor particularly adapted for use in an aircraft.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Capacity of passenger aircraft has increased dramatically over the past thirty years. It is not unusual for some airlines to be equipped to carry a passenger load in excess of five hundred persons, whereas loads in excess of one hundred passengers are a common occurrence, with perhaps as many as thousands of flights a day throughout this country and the rest of the world.
While many flights are short in duration, three or four hours or less, in which only snacks may be served, many flights are of sufficient duration as to require the service of at least one meal to each of the passengers. On other flights, for example, coast-to-coast, and international flights, two or more meals and/or snacks may be served. Much of the equipment used in meal service is made from paper or plastic material designed to be discarded as part of the trash, together with left over food stuffs.
On some flights, this trash is generally collected in plastic bags and stored aboard the aircraft until the flight terminates at which time the bags are removed for disposal. These bags are bulky and at the very least they represent an inconvenience to the crew and passengers as they become filled and their numbers accumulate during the course of the flight.
On lengthy flights, with large passenger loads, especially when there are multiple servings of food, the problem does become acute, so much so that it is not unusual for one or more of the multiple lavatories aboard to be used as rooms for the storage of the bags. This results in further inconvenience for those aboard the aircraft.
One solution to the trash storage problem which has been gaining in acceptance, is that of the installation of a trash compactor onboard the aircraft. To be used onboard an aircraft, however, the trash compactor must be small in size and relatively light in weight, and must meet stringent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety and airworthiness regulations, as well as airframe manufacturer and airline industry requirements. Exemplary of trash compactors specifically designed and intended for use on aircraft are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,767, 3,835,769, 3,899,967, 4,070,962, 4,183,295, 4,444,099, 4,620,479, 4,680,808, 4,700,623, 4,719,852, 4,729,303, and 5,465,660. Some of the prior art compactors use water pressure to effect compacting, others use springs, air pressure, hydraulic fluid, or other means.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,099 discloses an airborne refuse compactor in which the pressure difference between cabin pressure and outside atmospheric pressure is utilized to energize the device and to withdraw, during compaction, the liquid content of the refuse through a self-closing valve which is part of and penetrates the wall of the refuse receptacle. The liquid is discharged into the rarefied atmosphere during flight, where it evaporates. The receptacle employed in the compactor is of generally rigid construction in order to conform to the cavity within the compactor and to accommodate the piston and the one-way valve. Thus the receptacles must occupy valuable space aboard the aircraft prior to use in the compactor or be made collapsible at a significant cost.
In addition, the compactor employs a piston or platen filling the entire cross section of the receptacle to compress the refuse within. After a series of cycles, when the receptacle is filled, the latter is removed. A single piston is not capable of adjusting readily to different kinds or densities of the trash over its area with the result that there is sometimes a tendency for the piston to become cocked. Moreover, the single piston along with its actuating structure is complicated and heavy and contributes significantly to the weight of the compactor.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,808 discloses a compactor receptacle which improves the performance and usefulness of airborne refuse compactors. The receptacle is far less expensive to manufacture, lacks the need for a valve for the withdrawal of the liquid from the refuse, and can be collapsed completely prior to use, thus occupying very little valuable space.
According to a preferred embodiment the receptacle consists of a bag made from a porous fabric of a hydrophobic or non-wetting material such as nylon and is provided with means to suspend it with the open end up in the compactor. Extended metal arms are provided adjacent the open end of the bag to facilitate insertion and removal of the bag and to guide the sides of the opening during compaction.
The bag resists leakage of the liquid in the trash as the bag is being filled due to the non-wetting characteristics of the fibers, while during compaction the liquid will leak out of the bag and collect in the bottom of the compactor where it can be carried away so that when the bag is full and ready to be removed and discarded the trash is largely free of liquid thereby reducing the effort required in disposing of the trash.